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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Understanding Autumn

Autumn means waking up when it's darker, and never missing a firey sunrise that completely glistens over the frosty ground.

It means soaking up those few sunny days outside (and maybe saving school lessons for later in the day when the temperature starts to drop again).

Autumn means roasting lots of root veggies and winter squashes (and scrambling for as many different recipes one can put persimmons in).

It's a time to collect raspberry leaves to dry them for a lovely labor-prep tea down the not-so-distant road.

Autumn means walnuts! And realizing gathering them is most of the fun and a fraction of the work to prepare them.

We quickly run back outside as we notice the day is fading sooner than we're used to and we do the last of the outdoor sqramblings. We soak in the glorious colors and outrageous sunsets as we gather the night's firewood for the stove and we shell as many walnuts as we can until it's too dark to see. It's time to make dinner, anyway...

Autumn means tucking ourselves in bed earlier, thinking about the rapidly approaching holidays to come, and calling to mind with affection the loved ones we create little treasures for.

As I learn to dance with autumn, I love all it brings more and more and realize how very fleeting it seems to be. If only the trees could hold their brilliant leaves a little longer. If I could just get one more pumpkin in the oven before dinner. And I could never make too many apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies before the joy of them wears off. It might be a short season, but I drink in every last ounce I can with each changing, colorful, cozy day.

Beautiful! Autumn has always been my favorite season...even more so now that we live in a climate that actually HAS 4 seasons. :) Even though the leaves held on a full two weeks later than normal this year, it still seems too short to enjoy all the season has to offer.